'A Pirates Photobomb:' The kid behind the viral 'Sell The Team' photo
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - There may not be a more polarizing figure in Pittsburgh sports than Pirates owner Bob Nutting.
The man from Wheeling, West Virginia purchased the Pirates in 2007 and since then the team has continued to have a lack of success on the field.
Throughout Nutting's ownership, there have been calls for him to sell the team, for Pittsburgh native Mark Cuban to purchase the team and so many other discussions on how to get the Pirates out from Nutting's ownership.
One of those includes Plum native and former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee to sell t-shirts from the online store of his successful radio and YouTube program "The Pat McAfee Show" that simply read "Sell The Team" in a similar script to the Pirates' logo.
One of the people who purchased one of those t-shirts is diehard Pirates fan Colin Witte.
This summer, he was presented with a once-in-a-lifetime chance: to get a picture with the Pirates' owner while wearing the t-shirt.
"The double-take kind of said it all," Witte told Fan N'ATion. "We're just a very passionate family and we love our Pittsburgh sports. I remember going to games when I was a little baby and seeing Jack Wilson play and all those guys."
That is the motivation behind his video.
His grandfather told him stories about the 1979 Pirates and as he listened in awe, he longed for a team he could only hear stories about.
"The 'Sell The Team' Movement kind of started with Pat McAfee," he said. "I bought the shirt from his website, I've worn it to many games, this isn't the first time I've worn it."
You might think that Witte was on the lookout for Nutting but that wasn't the case in the lead up to the viral video.
"It wasn't even me who noticed Bob, it was my brother," Witte recalled. "He kind of nudged me a little bit and said, 'Yo, I think that's Bob Nutting over there.' I just went up and asked for a picture and I think the picture/video speaks for itself."
So far, Witte's video has gone about as viral as viral can get - nearly two million views.
"The reaction was crazy, I did not expect it to go this viral, and it was crazy to see what happened," he said.
Pat McAfee, Barstool Sports, and so many others on the internet and in the Pittsburgh sports fandom took notice of the video and expressed their solidarity with Witte.
Even with Nutting not showing much, if any, interest in selling the team, that doesn't mean Witte is giving up hope in his beloved Pirates.
"I'll always hold out hope," he said. "Whether it's a 50-win team, whether it's a 10-win team, or whether it's a 120-win team, I'll always be a fan."
